McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Boosted by American Investment Services Inc.

American Investment Services Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,960 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the quarter. American Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $904,192. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $314.65 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.65. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $224.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.49%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.